Golf club



March 21, 1961 L. o. MCCULLOUGH, JR 2,976,046

GOLF CLUB Filed March 4, 1957 L. awE-LLC). M cULLOUG-H. d1?

INVENTOR- BYaltm, M, 4' W ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent GOLF CLUB Lewell 0. McCullough, Jr., 1236 East Blvd., Charlotte, NC.

Filed Mar. 4, 1957, Ser. No. 643,802

1 Claim. (Cl. 273162) This invention relates to a golf club and has particular application to an improvement in a putter and more particularly to a putter having a spirit level or sight gauge formed as an integral part thereof to improve ones swing and to enable a person to become more proficient at the game of golf.

Heretofore, spirit level or sight gauge attachments have been provided for putters to enable a player, while practicing, to improve his swing so that the ball when struck will accurately follow a predetermined direction. However, it has been found that upon a person using the attachment while practicing, upon the removal of the attachment when playing the game, many of the benefits of the practicing session were to no avail. This is directly traceable to the lessening of the weight and the redistribution of the weight upon the attachment being removed.

It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a sight gauge in the form of a spirit level which is formed integral with the head of the golf club or putter to permit the golf club to be used for practicing sessions as well as during playing the game.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a sight gauge in the form of a spirit level arranged in such a manner on the head of the golf club that it may be used to determine the levelness of the terrain between the golf ball and the cup to permit an experienced player proficient in the art of golf to make suitable allowances in his stroke.

It is a still fin-ther object of this invention to provide a sight gauge on a golf club in such a manner that upon the gauge being damaged or destroyed that the same may readily be replaced without necessitating the buying of a new club.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view with parts broken away of the golf club shown in the form of a putter;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of Figure 1 and with some parts shown in elevation;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1 and with some parts shown in elevation.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a golf club shown in the form of a putter is provided with a shaft to which is secured a head portion broadly indicated by reference numeral 11. The head portion 11 is provided with a substantially flat or horizontal upper surface 11a, an arcuate lower surface 11b, the lowermost point of which is arranged parallel to the upper surface, and an outer free end Ha. I

A longitudinally extending opening or aperture 12 de- Patented Mar. 21, 1961 fined by downwardly sloping edge portions 110 is provided in a medial portion of the upper surface 11a of the head 11. Extending inwardly from the outer free end 11d of the golf head 11 and below the opening 12 and parallel to the lower surface 11b is a longitudinally extending bore or passageway 16 in which is positioned a sight gauge in the form of a spirit level 13. The sight gauge is provided with an air bubble 13a which is adapted to be normally positioned between the hairor sight lines 13b when the golf club is swung in a proper level manner togontact the ball. Also, the air bubble 13a is positioned betweenlines 13b when the lower surface 11b of the club is resting on perfectly flat ground.

Any suitable material such as synthetic resin or plastic material 14 surrounds the sight gauge 13 to cushion the same against impact and prevent it from being displaced in the longitudinal bore 16. It is apparent that the material 14 securing the sight gauge 13 in the bore 16 does not cover the upper portions of the sight gauge protruding into the opening 12 to interfere with the observation of the-air bubble 13a therein. To further aid in holding the sight gauge 13 in its proper alined position with the open ing 12, a threaded plug 15 is provided to abut the material 14 and to enclose the end of the longitudinal bore 16 in the head.

It is apparent that in the event the sight gauge 13 is damaged or broken that the same may be readily replaced by removing the threaded plug 15 and removing the material 14 and sight gauge therefrom after which a new sight gauge may be reinserted in the head.

It is thus apparent that there has been provided an improved golf club or putter which can be used to greatly improve ones proficiency at the game of golf.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claim.

I claim:

A golf club comprising a shaft, a head having an outer free end, said head having a bore extending inwardly from the outer free end, the upper surface of said head having an aperture therein communicatively connected to the bore, a spirit level positioned in said bore and underneath said opening to be viewed therethrough, a mass of resilient material substantially filling said bore, said mass of resilient material being provided with a recess in its upper surface snugly receiving said spirit level, and a plug threadably secured in said bore at the outer free end of said head, said plug abutting said mass of resilient material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

